Pittsburgh Post-Gazette – Number of Women Landing Jobs in Oil, Natural Gas Industry Growing

Good news from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics: Of 3,900 positions added in the oil and natural gas industry nationwide in the first quarter of 2013, almost half or 1,800 were filled by women.

AEI Ideas Carpe Diem Blog – The Most Economically Successful Metropolitan Area in the Country

As a direct result of all the shale oil and natural gas activity in the Permian Basin area of West Texas, the economy of Midland is booming, writes Mark J. Perry. There is also an unprecedented construction surge taking place in the town – building permits in March skyrocketed to 347, which was a 580 percent increase from  a year ago.

Zanesville Times Recorder – Free Trade Should Include Natural Gas

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Two new reports outline the importance of crafting the right policies to capitalize on America’s vast wealth in shale natural gas.

An American Chemistry Council (ACC) analysis points to rich capital investments and job gains to be realized in that sector because of abundant, affordable supplies of shale natural gas:

• $71.7 billion in chemical industry investments publicly announced through the end of March.
• 46,000 new chemical industry jobs by 2020.
• 264,000 jobs in supplier industries by 2020.
• 226,000 induced jobs in communities where chemical industry workers spend their wages.
• $20 billion in federal, state and local tax revenue.

ACC President and CEO Cal Dooley:

“The United States has become a magnet for chemical industry investment, a testament to the fav... more »

Free Enterprise – Keystone XL: Real Benefits for the U.S.

Sean Hackbarth notes  Keystone XL pipeline developments this week: The House Transportation Committee advanced  a bill that would allow construction of the full pipeline – the third congressional committee to do so; Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper was in New York City touting  the project’s benefits  for both the U.S. and Canada; and a small business owner in Maryland told the president that businesses like his  would get a boost from the project.

The Hill – DOE Approves Natural Gas Export Project

A Texas LNG  facility has the green light from DOE  for exports to non-free trade nations. DOE noted that project opponents “have not demonstrated that the requested authorization would be inconsistent with the public int... more »

An early look at the Bureau of Land Management’s (BLM) proposed new rule governing hydraulic fracturing on federal and Indian lands shows the challenge of trying to create a new rule that doesn’t just add regulation on top of effective state rules already in place.

Certainly, BLM’s aim with this rule, compared to a previous version, was to take hydraulic fracturing regulation in a better direction – acknowledging the role of the states and measures including FracFocus.org, the online fracking fluid registry. And it appears BLM has done that to some degree. Yet, the executive summary in BLM’s rule announcement and request for public comment suggests BLM itself is concerned about duplication, additional layers and potential additional delays to oil and natural gas development (emphasis a... more »

Breaking Energy – Sieminski: U.S. Tight Oil Growth Helping Lower Global Crude Price

U.S. tight oil production has helped to shave about $20-$25 per barrel from Brent crude oil prices, and continued output growth could  further impact global pricing, says  Energy Information Administration Administrator Adam Sieminski.

E! Science News – Groundwater Unaffected by Shale Gas Production in Arkansas

Duke University and U.S. Geological Survey scientists sampled 127 shallow drinking water wells in areas overlying Fayetteville Shale gas production in north-central Arkansas and found no ground water contamination from hydraulic fracturing.

AEI Ideas/Carpe Diem Blog – North Dakota Sets New Oil Production Record in March

Mark J. Perry writes that March was another record-setting month f... more »